Science Fiction | 14 April 2017

Andrey Shental's Descent into the Fungal' is dedicated to the planetary power of mushrooms. The narrative is divided into two storylines. The main one is a popular presentation of basic scientific facts and latest discoveries in the field of mycology. This storyline is interleaved with utterances of the fungal bodies themselves, which declaim something akin to their own particular credo or manifesto. This combination results in it becoming clear that the relationships the fungi foster with their surroundings (mycorhiza, parasitism, saprotrophy and endophytia) refer unambiguously to contemporary political programmes. In addressing the human audience, the turbantop, hard-skinned puffball, saffron milk cap and other fungi present revolutionary scenarios and a programme for a future world order on non-human grounds, anticipating the struggle against human capitalism.